


Camping and Cryptids

by Lisa_Shadow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Injured Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Kid Fic, Kid Keith (Voltron), Kid Lance (Voltron), M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Voltron is a cryptid, injured keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 16:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15223310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisa_Shadow/pseuds/Lisa_Shadow
Summary: Lance gets lost on his family's camping trip and is saved from a snake by an equal lost Keith who was looking for cryptids. The two wonder the woods in search of there families together while there families are freaking out.





	Camping and Cryptids

Lance and his family were hiking out to the spot where they camped every year; this would be Lance’s first year going because his parents insisted he had to be 13 to go. They had been walking for an hour now and Lance’s feet were beginning to hurt, his water was gone and he needed to pee. Lance tapped his brother Marco on the shoulder, “I have to pee can you tell Mama to wait?” Lance didn’t wait for a response before dropping his backpack and running out to the woods. 

After Lance had relieved himself he took a moment to sit down and rest his feet before returning to where he had left his family. Once he had gotten back to the path all he found was his bag. He looked around hoping his family would jump out of the forest and tell him this was just a bad joke but as he looked around and saw no sign of a McClain anywhere he felt tears fall down his cheeks. He started running down the path as fast as he could, his vision blurring with tears, till he came upon a fork in the road. Lance wiped his eyes as he looked between the two paths trying to decide which to take. There was a noise from the left that sounded like someone walking so he went that way.

Lance ran as fast as he could down the path but then his foot caught and he fell to the ground sliding down the steep hill to his right. When Lance reached the bottom of the hill he didn’t move, he just laid there and cried ignoring the sting pain going down his left side and the mud covering his face. Lance knew he was going to die here in this forest and his family would never find his body, they'd never know what happened to him, his future nieces and nephews would here stories on their family camping trip about the McClain that got lost in the forest. 

Lance was too busy crying to pay attention to his surroundings till a white and red boot slammed down next to his face. He blinked away the tears and looked up to see a boy about his age, pale skin, mullet, angry purple eyes. Lance’s eyes trailed down the boy, he was wearing a red crop top jacket, a belt with pouches, black jeans, and red and white hiking boots. As Lance looked down at the boot by his head he saw something moving beneath it. A snake! Lance jumped back from his spot on the ground just as the snake jumped up and bit the boy’s leg.

Mullet yelp as he shook the snake off his leg. The snake was flung into a tree then it slithered off. This boy had just taken a snake bite for Lance. Lance ran up to the boy hugging him with all his remaining strength. “Thank you! You saved me!” He let go and looked down at the boy’s leg where his dark jeans were now ripped and tinted red, “are you okay?”

They boy shook Lance off him, “I’m fine!”

“No your not! Your bleeding!” Lance reached into his backpack and pulled out the first aid kit his mother insisted everyone pack. “Sit down and let me bandage it,” Lance demanded.

The boy did as he was told and allowed Lance to roll up his jeans and look at the wound. The boy winced when Lance began cleaning the wound with rubbing alcohol. “I’m Lance by the way,” Lance said not looking up. The boy mumbled something in response that Lance didn’t understand, “what?”

The boy shouted, “Keith,” and then looked away from Lance. 

When Lance looked up, having finished wrapping Keith’s leg, he found there was a deep blush across Keith’s cheeks as he glared at a tree off to Lance’s left. Lance chuckled quietly to himself before leaning over and kissing Keith’s cheek, “thanks for saving me.”

Lance then stood up and explained how he lost his family to Keith as he surveyed his surroundings unaware of how flustered the boy behind him was. Lance was determined to find his family now and get Keith help for his leg to repay him for saving him. “There’s moss on this side of the tree so that way must be North,” Lance declared triumphantly. 

Keith snorted, “that’s a myth moss can grow on any side of the a tree so the sun is a better way to determine direction, also do you know what direction your family’s camp even is in?”

“I don’t see you coming up with any ideas.”

“I think Shiro’s camp is that way,” Keith said limping in an obscure direction into the woods.

“Wait you sure?” Lance shouted running up behind Keith.

“No, but it’s better then following the moss.”

“Hey that always works in the movies!”

 

 

The McClains had finally arrived at the campsite after two hours of walking. Marco laid down on his back taking a break before he was forced to help set up. He turned to ask Lance how he liked the hike only to find the boy not there, looking around the campsite he didn’t see him anywhere. “Has anyone seen Lance?”

All the McClains stopped what they were doing to look around, when nobody saw the youngest they began frantically calling his name and searching the surrounding woods. Marco ran back along the path they came from calling, “Lance! Lance! Come out this isn’t funny!” This was all his fault, as the oldest of the family he should have kept a better eye on Lance. What if he was hurt. What if a bear attacked him because he smelled like strawberries. 

When Marco got back to the campsite Dad was giving out instructions, “Everyone find a partner a continue to search the woods, Marco and I will head back along the path to get the rangers,” with that the family paired off and ran back into the woods. Marco and Mr. McClain headed back along the path keeping their eyes open for signs of the youngest McClain.

 

 

Shiro was walking back from hunting for s’more roasting sticks, this was his first time taking his new brother, Keith, camping and he was going to make it the most fun the kid had ever had. When he got back to camp he looked around for his brother but didn’t see him, “does anyone know where Keith is?”

Matt, Shiro’s best friend, looked up from the device he was tinkering with, “I thought he was with you.”

“No he said he wanted to stay here and set up his cryptid hunting gear.”

Ten year old Pidge, who was hanging off her brother’s shoulder, spoke up, “He said that Voltron was calling him and went that way,” pointing into the forest. 

“How long ago was that?”

“Before you started making the fire.”

That was almost an hour ago! Shiro stared off into the forest dragging a hand through his graying hair, “Quiznak! How could I have lost him already!” Shiro and Allura quickly ran into the forest Matt following after telling Pidge to stay put. They searched the forest for what felt like hours before grouping up back at camp as the sun began to set. Shiro was panicking, Keith could be anywhere by now, the kid had run away from his last family and lived in a shack in the desert by himself for a week before he was found. Social services was going to find out and deem the Shirogane's unfit to care for him, he was going to be put back in the system!

Allura walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, “calm down Shiro, take a breath well find him, its okay.” Shiro looked up at her, he hadn't realized he was speaking aloud. Allura drew him into a hug, “let’s go to the rangers and get help searching. Keith is a smart kid he will be fine.” the four of them climbed on to their four wheelers, Allura and Shiro on one, Matt and Pidge on the other.

When they arrived there was already a man and his son talking to a ranger with an orange mustache but a young boy in a rangers uniform walked up to them and introduced himself, “Hi my name is Hunk, I’m a ranger in training. What can I help you with?”

“My brother’s looking for Voltron and I need him back,” was all Shiro was able to stutter out in his frantic state. 

When the little ranger just stared at the Shiro in confusion Allura clarified, “We’re looking for our friend Keith, he’s about your age and ran off by himself into the forest and now we can’t find him. 

Hunk nodded his head taking his job very seriously. He ran over to the ranger in with the mustache and shouted, “Coran, they lost their friend too!” 

Coran looked over to the group with a smile that couldn’t quite mask his concern. “Can I get a description of them and I’ll send it out to the other rangers, they are already out looking for Mr. McClain’s son,” He said gesturing to the man he had been speaking to.

Shiro nodded and started describing him, “He’s is 14 years old, black hair, blue eyes, he’s wearing a bright red jacket and he’s a little shorter than Hunk here.”

Coran nodded writing it all down, “Can you tell me what his name is?”

“Oh sorry, Keith.”

Coran finished writing it all down and said, “okay let me give this to Ulaz to send out and then we can head out.” Coran went into a back room for a moment before coming out again and the group headed out.

As they were walking Hunk walked up to Shiro and grabbed his hand, “it’ll be okay we’ll find your brother, how did he get lost anyway?”

Shiro looked down at the comforting boy and sighed, “he was looking for Voltron.”

Hunk’s eyes lit up, “Voltron is real I saw the yellow lion once! She protected me when a bear attacked me for my cookies. Don’t worry I’m sure Voltron will keep your brother safe.” Hunk patted Shiro on the back comfortingly before running off to talk to Pidge. 

 

 

“Are you sure we are going the right way?” Lance asked, they had been walking for hours and it was starting to get dark. 

“I think so” Keith replied too exhausted to take offence at Lance’s commit. 

“You think so! You have no clue where we are do you!”

“It’s not like you had any better ideas!” Keith snapped back.

They had been arguing like this the whole time. Lance was about to snap back but then Keith screeched as his leg gave out under him and he fell on his face. “Are you okay!” Lance shouted as he ran over to help Keith up. 

Keith swatted his hand, “I’m fine,” but when he went to stand up he fell over again. Keith apparently decided not to get up this time as he just laid there face in the dirt.

“Let's take a break then,” Lance said sitting down to lean on a nearby tree. Keith grunted and gave him a thumbs up, he laid there for a moment longer before gathering the energy to roll over and wipe the dirt off his face. Lance took a small sip of his water before offering it to Keith. “Do you think our families are looking for us?”

Keith sat up a bit to take a sip of the water before handing it back to Lance, “your family probably is, your too loud for them to forget about you.”

Lance ignore the last part, “you don’t think your family is looking for you?”

“The last one waited till I was gone a week before they started looking.”

“Oh sorry,” Lance looked down glaring at his hand.

“It’s fine,” Keith mumbled as he closed his eyes.

The two boys sat there in silence for a few minutes till finally Lance got up, “come on we should get going,” Keith didn’t respond so Lance went over and shook him but he still just laid there, “come on Keith we have to keep moving!” Lance pulled Keith’s eye lids up as he shouted in his face but the boy still didn’t move; he felt Keith’s forehead, it was very warm. 

Lance looked around biting his lip not sure what to do, till he spotted a cave a little ways away. He hoisted Keith onto his back and stumbled over to the cave After peeking around the entrance and determining that there were no bears inside Lance stumbled in and laid Keith down near the wall. He sat there next to Keith biting his lip not sure what he should do but then he noticed Keith was shivering, they needed a fire, Lance knew how to build a fire he was a boy scout, finally something he could do to be helpful.

Lance left the cave to gather some sticks but he didn’t venture far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to see Keith. After gathering the sticks Lance gathered some rocks and made a pit. He spent several minutes spinning a stick between his hands trying to get the fire started but then he remembered he had matches in his bag and felt silly. Once the fire was started Lance mover over to Keith and draped his green jacket on him. Lance sat down next to Keith and lifted his head to sit in his lap and began running his hand through his hair while humming a song his mama taught him to keep himself from freaking out. 

Lance eventually nodded off but was awakened when Keith began mumbling something about Voltron and a red lion then Keith’s eyes shot open and he shouted, “we have to move!” as he began trying to stand up.

“What? Why? Your still hurt! Don’t move!” 

“No the red lion said so!” 

Lance just stared at him not moving to help the boy up.

“Come on! I’ll explain later!”

Lance looked at the desperate look in Keith’s eyes and gave in helping Keith up. The two limped over to the back of the cave, Lance supporting most of Keith’s weight. Just as the reached the back there was a loud groan and the front of the cave collapsed onto where they had been previously sitting. “What? How did you know?”

Lance set Keith down while he responded matter of factly, “the red lion warned me.”

“The what?”

“The red lion, you know one of the five lions of Voltron defender of the forest.”

“That’s just a myth, Voltron’s not real.” 

“Is too! I just saw one of the lions, how do you explain that?”

“You had a fever, you were probably hallucinating.”

“Then how would I know about the cave in?”

“You probably have a sixth sense like spiderman.”

“You believe in a sixth sense but not Voltron!” Keith exclaimed throwing his hands up. 

 

 

It was late, Matt had picked Pidge up and let her sleep on his back, Hunk looked like he would pass out any second even Mr. McClain’s son Marco looked tired but Shiro wasn’t quite sure if it was just from all the crying he’d done. Shiro was about to tell the rest of the group to get some rest when he saw something, it looked like a large black lion and it seemed to want him to follow it. Shiro took off after the lion having nothing else to lose, the rest of the group called after him but he didn’t falter as the lion led him deep into the forest. 

 

 

Lance and Keith were sitting in the cave in silence when Lance saw a flash of Blue, he shined his flashlight at it and saw it was a blue lion. Lance started whacking Keith on his arm while not taking his eyes off the creature.

“What!” Keith snapped.

Lance pointed to the lion and whispered, “do you see that?”

“See what Lance, there is nothing there.”

“There’s a blue lion!”

Keith perked up, “why didn’t you say so let follow it.”

“What if it eats us?”

“I don’t think the red lion saved us just so the blue one could eat us, she would have eaten us herself.”

Lance wasn’t exactly reassured by that but he figured taking the chance was better than dying in this cave with Keith so he stood up and helped Keith up. Lance helped Keith walk as they followed the blue lion, she led them through a series of tunnels in the cave and Lance could swear she was just leading them to her den to be eaten but then he heard someone shouting, “Shiro! Wait for the rest of us! Where are you going?” They reached the exit of the cave just as a tall man with a white puff of hair in the front came running out of the forest.

The second Shiro saw his brother he ran up to him lifting him up in a hug crying, “Keith I’m so happy I found you! You are never leaving my site again!” 

Lance was happily reunited with his family before both boys were whisked away to the hospital to treat Keith’s leg and Lance’s side. They ended up being roommates at the hospital and stayed friends ever sense. Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge quickly all became great friends and would often go back to the forest to hunt for Voltron with adult supervision of course, witch often ended up being Shiro.


End file.
